And this kind of operation? The words of Count Korolav opened the eyes of Friedrich Liszt.

"But what are we supposed to do?" Friedrich Liszt was clearly moved, after all, this kind of unwarranted business is very attractive to anyone.

"Quite simply, our Imperial Majesty has great trust in you now, and you can take advantage of this wonderful opportunity of our Imperial Majesty's trust in you to find a way to obtain a business license from him. As long as we work together and cooperate seamlessly, we can naturally achieve a win-win situation. ”

Strange to say, human beings are very strange animals, from full of blood, to self-depravity is a matter of an instant.

In the face of great temptation, few people can keep their hearts.

Count Korollaf's proposal would allow Friedrich Liszt to earn money that he had not been able to make in decades combined.

Seeing Friedrich's expression, Korolav knew that he had pulled the extremely dangerous economist to his side. He will definitely be able to become his own surprise soldier against Metternich in the future.

Korolav understood that it is difficult to retain people with ideals and beliefs alone, and that only common interests and sins can bind people firmly.

At the same time, Prince Metternich found his old buddy, the Austrian banker, the Rothschild's spokesman in Vienna, as the Count of Korolav had said.

"Solomon, my old friend, I have great news for you."

"Dear Metternich, you are truly my blessed star. You always have so much good news, and what has brought me this time. ”

The two have known each other for many years and have a lot of common interests. There wasn't much nonsense in the meeting, just a few simple greetings to get to the point.

"With the approval of His Majesty Franz II, the Northern Company Railway Company has been announced. Congratulations on becoming the founder of the first steam railway in the Austrian Empire. It will be a historic moment, and the people will remember your exploits. ”

In fact, the Rothschilds had their own intelligence system, and he had learned of this news before Metternich's arrival, and had already prepared a generous gift for Prince Metternich.

But Metternich actually came here today, and it was very unusual. However, it just so happened that he also wanted to meet this old friend.

"You're overrated, I'm just a businessman. This is thanks to the wisdom of Your Majesty and your help. Solomon Rothschild continued while humbling himself.

"Your Excellency, you can just let the butler Berg run for this kind of thing. Why do you want to come in person? I guess you don't have more than one piece of good news to tell me. ”

Metternich smiled.

"Solomon, you are still so clever that you can't hide anything from you. There is also good news, according to the original plan, the Northern Railway operated a line from Vienna to Brno and then to Lviv via Olmuts. In this way, Vienna is connected to Moravia, Silesia, Galicia and Bukovina. ”

Metternich took the tea from the servant, blew it, probably a little hot, and brushed it aside, and continued.

"His Majesty Franz II has now granted you permission to add a line that runs south from Vienna through Prague to Dresden. By the time the Austrian Empire officially joined the German Customs Union, you should know what potential this route would burst out. ”

Even if Austria had not joined the German Customs Union, the route was historically scorching because it passed through all the rich regions.

If, as Metternich said, the Rothschilds would have had a railway line that completely covered the north of Netalenia. With a staggering length of 1,100 kilometres, it connects the most developed regions of Netalenia and is of economic value.

"Prime Minister, please convey to His Majesty the Emperor my sincere gratitude that we, the Rothschild Bank, will always be friends of the Habsburgs." As he spoke, several strong men walked in from the door, laboriously pulling a cart with a large iron box on it.

"Metternich, my old friend, I have a gift for you, but you need to promise me one thing."

Metternich is also an old man, and he knows that Solomon Rothschild, a greedy fellow, must be planning a bigger conspiracy. He didn't answer.

Metternich did not answer, which was also expected by Solomon Rothschild. He ordered his men to open the chest, the heavy chains were removed, and the lid was slowly opened, filled with neatly arranged gold bars.

"There's fifteen hundred gold bars here, and each one is a standard 100-ounce. If you can get His Majesty the Emperor to accept my offer, I am willing to give another two thousand gold bars as a thank-you gift. ”

A 100-ounce gold bar is about 4,250 florins, which is equivalent to the salary of an average soldier for 42 and a half years. The total price of this gift is 17,000 years of military pay for an ordinary soldier.

In addition, gold is very dense, three times denser than iron, so it is entirely possible to hold 1.5 tons of gold in a large iron box.

"Solomon, my friend, what do you want?"

"Southern Railway Company."

"With all due respect, my friend, this condition of yours is very difficult to meet." Metternich replied.

"Your Royal Highness, I know that you have been worried about the affairs of the Northern Italians. Now we have a chance once and for all, that if we build the railroad to Venice, we will be able to tie the interests of the Italian merchants and nobles with the interests of the Empire, and then the Italians will no longer be able to resist the rule of the Austrian Empire. ”

These words do not need to be said by Solomon Rothschild, Metternich knows them in his heart.

It's just that Netalenia's railroad cannot be controlled by one person or a company, which His Majesty the Emperor will never allow, and he knows very well where Franz II's bottom line is after serving Franz II for so many years.

And personally, he also did not want Solomon Rothschild to master the entire Austrian transport system. Because when the time comes, this "emperor" of Solomon will become even more arrogant.

This Solomon Rothschild likes to compare his family to the sixth great power in the world. Naturally, his subordinates did what he liked, calling him "Emperor".

Although Solomon Rothschild liked the title, he did not allow others to mention it in public, after all, there was another emperor in Vienna.

The reason why Metternich came to the door in person was because he was afraid that Solomon Rothschild had ambitions for the Southern Railway. To this end, Metternich also intended to win the route from Vienna to Dresden to the emperor in order to satisfy Solomon Rothschild's appetite.

"Solomon, you know, our Emperor is an extremely careful man, he will not put his eggs in one basket, let alone allow one person to take his basket."

Metternich's words have been made clear, but Solomon Rothschild seems to have no intention of giving up.

"You and Your Majesty will think about it again, and if Your Majesty needs it, the Rothschild Bank is willing to provide Your Majesty with an interest-free loan of 10 million florins."

Solomon Rothschild was so persistent not only because he was optimistic about the future of the Austrian Imperial Railway, but also because a French friend gave him a promise.

As long as Solomon can take the Austrian railways and transfer control to the French company, or help France at a critical moment, he will be France's most important friend.

Austria's road to the Tariff German Customs Union is a long and difficult road. Even before joining the German Customs Union, there was a division of interests among factions within the government.